What happened to Lot? He was a righteous man, and the scriptures testify to this being true. Yet, he really made a mess of his life. While his heart may have been right with God, he was a failure. Why? What happened? The text doesn’t clearly tell us what happened. Nevertheless, I believe, it is possible to deduce, what might be true, but nothing can be set in stone. The reader must decide for himself, if my understanding is true or not.
I believe it is significant that the angels struck the citizens of Sodom with blindness, as they sought to carry out their evil deed. This seems to tell us that, men with an obsessive disposition, believe they are correct in what they do, and they cannot be swayed to believe otherwise, no matter what may be argued against them. They are blind to another way. The same could be said of Lot, and people today, righteous folks, who believe as Lot did, that the world’s system of doing things is a good system, if only righteous men and women held the positions of power. Nevertheless, seeking to serve the Lord one’s own way, or perhaps put more succinctly, attempting to honor God through the power of the world’s system, cannot be done.
The will of God is done through the power of his Holy Spirit, which worked in Abraham (cp. 1Peter 1:11), but the spirit of the world (cp. 1Corinthians 2:12; Ephesians 2:2) was what worked in Lot, meaning he sought to do good in his service to God, through the world’s manner of doing good, as do many righteous folks today.
The angels revealed to Lot, what the Lord had sent them to do, so they asked him, if he had any more family in the city—sons, daughters, son-in-law. If he did, he needed to warn them and take them and his family in the house out of Sodom. If not, the righteous would be destroyed with the wicked (Genesis 19:12-13). So, Lot did as the angels commanded and went out to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and he told them they needed to leave the city, because the Lord intended to destroy it and all the people therein. Nevertheless, they didn’t take Lot seriously (Genesis 19:14).
When morning had come, it was time to leave, and the angels told Lot to take his family in his home and leave Sodom, but, curiously, he was in no hurry to do so (Genesis 19:15-16). It was as though, he were blind himself. It seems that the blindness of the Sodomites infected Lot and his family. They seemed to believe, they could,yet save the city. Lot may have thought, if only I had done this, or if only I’d be allowed to do that etc. Lot seemed to be obsessed with doing the right thing his way, but he was blind to his failure, vis-à-vis the “wood, hay and stubble” of his service to God (cp. 1Corinthians 3:12).
Nevertheless, the Lord was merciful to Lot and his family, probably for the sake of Abraham’s intercession (Genesis 18:32), and the two angels physically took hold of Lot and his family, because they lingered, not wanting to leave the city. They told Lot to leave the city and escape to the mountains, and they were not to look back, meaning they were not to regret leaving this city or bemoan its judgment (Genesis 19:17). Nevertheless, Lot continued to argue with the will of God, pleading for a small city that he could enter, because he feared being alone on a mountain, for all his wealth and power were in Sodom. Perhaps, he thought that he could make a new beginning in this small city (Genesis 19:18-20).
Seeing Lot was blind to the integrity of the will of God, the Lord consented to Lot’s request. His fate was sealed, and he would die in his righteousness, but without a reward for his service to his God, whom he served according to his own will, instead of embracing the Spirit of God (Genesis 19:21-22).
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